Chesterfield House

TALBOT AND LOCAL PLACES OF INTEREST

A rich alluvial gold lead was discovered in Talbot in the 1850's. In the early months of the rush there were as many as 30,000 people creating a huge canvas town along what they called 'Scandinavian Lead'. The population soon stabilised at several thousand and the early canvas stores began to be replaced by brick and timber structures. A second wave of development occurred in the mid to late 1860's, and now forms the bulk of buildings found in Talbot today. Many buildings were destroyed by fire in the late 1800's and more recently in the devastating bush fires of 1985. Fortunately, Talbot has had such a long and interesting history that there are a surprising number of treasures and relics left in the historic gold town.